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Shop Owners Say Fees Could Send Them Under

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 26, 2007

VALRICO - Mom and pop business owners in the Shoppes at Lithia say they will be hard-pressed to stay afloat if their latest landlord insists on collecting thousands of dollars in back fees for property maintenance.

The leasing company, Developers Diversified Realty Corp., has yet to provide the tenants with documentation showing that the money was spent to maintain the buildings and common areas, tenants say.

Still, some say they have received threats of eviction if they refuse to pay up. One tenant moved out. Some have hired attorneys.

A local representative for Developers Diversity referred questions about the maintenance fees to its national headquarters in Ohio. Company spokesman Scott Schroeder did not return phone calls requesting comment.

Tenants were notified in February that they had to pay for $272,000 in outstanding maintenance fees, one tenant said. His bill came to $22,000. The only bill he received was a breakdown written by the landlord saying he owed the money, according to a computer printout he received in the mail from Developers Diversified.

Typically, landlords send adjusted maintenance statements to tenants at the end of each year. Sometimes they get a credit, sometimes they owe. But it is the amount Developers Diversified is demanding that has tenants baffled and disgusted.

When some of the tenants demanded to see proof that the money was spent for maintenance at the plaza - copies of bills paid for the work - the landlord ignored them, they say.

"They are trying to put everybody out of business," said Lela Lilyquist, who owned Nature's Health Foods & Cafe.

"I was lucky. My lease ran out in September, and I left. I was there four years ... and lost money," she said. "Saying I have to pay $3,900 in common area maintenance fees every month is insane."

The Shoppes at Lithia, a 78,056-square-foot plaza at Bloomingdale Avenue and Lithia-Pinecrest Road, is anchored by a 54,340-square-foot Publix supermarket. Most of the maintenance fees are paid by the small tenants, such as Benjamin Moore Paints, Ajay's Liquors, Buy Best Beauty Supply and UPS.

The center has mostly asphalt parking areas with low-maintenance native landscaping sprinkled throughout.

"It makes no sense. We're small business owners and we don't have that kind of money," said Kay Wensloff, who owns Benjamin Moore with her son, Brant. "They vacillate between telling us we owe $17,000 and $30,000. We got three notices last week for three different amounts," she said.

"We've been paying $300 to $400 a month for maintenance, and now they want $1,620," Brant Wensloff said.

"They've given us no documentation on any of it," Kay Wensloff said. "They'll force our hand, and all of us will leave."

"I've been in business for 32 years and had 25 stores," said Buy Best owner Marion Cooner. "I've seen a good bit over the years, but I've never seen anything like this."

The Shoppes at Lithia has had a history of problems since before shop doors opened in 2002.

Three families on nearby Hillgrove Road sold their homes to the original developer, Paradise Development Group, ending a lawsuit they filed against the center claiming the plaza flooded out their yards. They eventually settled for $1.17 million.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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